#bearhands

“It’s not- I was born in 1910.” Factual accuracy did not win him any points, and a prolonged raised eyebrow was used against him like a torch. He backed down- “Fine. I’m uncultured.” Rachel nodded sagely. “We agree. Make room.”

It was the arts and crafts car again, Rachel had wheeled out a black box on a trolley- Al had been around long enough now to understand a TV. Not how it worked, necessarily, but that it would show images and sound. He had seen them in the Casino, and a shopping mall car that he had visited with Rachel and the gang earlier.

Occasionally, there were times when the- was it an age difference? No, they were both the same age, it’s just the time between them, the worlds they’re from. Those things were so different it made him feel ancient compared to Rachel. But he tried to roll with the punches of new technology, especially when others seemed so confident about it.

He scooted in the beanbag, which was its own feat of strength and contortion, and Rachel plopped down next to him with the remote and turned on the TV. He could hear a loud click, and a thrum. An image slowly lit up the screen- green text on a forest background, and the kind of music he imagined Shigeo would listen to started to play.

“They didn’t have much in here but I got what I could.” Rachel explained, not looking at Al but the TV. She gesticulated with the remote and Al watched her as she talked. Until her gaze moves from the television to him, and she holds his eyeline for a moment. In a moment of what is read as irritation, Rachel makes a motion with her shoulders and eyebrows that makes Al flinch, and she nods at the TV like she’s chiding him. “You need to watch. I am not going to sit through Shrek by myself.”

Sheepish- he turns his head back towards the screen. There was something impressive about the technology at play, and the scientific part of his brain was trying to understand it. Eventually though, he just gave way to actually watching the story play out infront of him.

----

It was about thirty minutes in when an intrusive thought wormed it’s way into Al’s head and out of his mouth.

“Do you think he’s here?” Al asked, Rachel’s head jerked up from the resting position it was drifting towards and she looked at him. “Michael Meyers?” Incredulous. Absurd. 

“No, no- Shrek. That guy.” Al pointed at the ogre on the screen freeing fairy tale animals.. “He’s troubled. We’ve seen adults. This is a story, right? We’re from stories. Is he on the train?” His brain was  Rachel looked between him and the screen, mouth agape. “That’s ridiculous. He- He can’t be right?” It was clearly enough to break her cool demeanor, and she looked off into the distance for a moment to mouth the words, deciding they tasted foul in her mouth. Is Shrek on the train…

The two of them sat there in silence for a moment- the sounds of Shrek and Donkey arguing about whether or not waffles will be made filling the space between them, and they both start to laugh. 

“He makes it out of this better- but Donkey, I think he’s on the train.” Rachel speaks in a voice that offers no chance for questions, Al responds with giggles. 

“Could you turn into Donkey?” 

“I could turn into a Donkey right now.”

“It wouldn’t be an animated Donkey though it would be a donkey like you.” 

“Do you think I can differentiate between animated and not?”

The two of them cackle and push each other on the bean bag,  and the way they watch this movie changes for the rest of it. Lord Farquad is definitely in the Apex. Fiona got on the train right when she goes Ogre for the first time. They switch to another movie after that and the same thing goes, slow piles of popcorn containers and soda cans growing around them as the night moves on.

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Eventually, Rachel is on the beanbag alone and Al is looking through DvD’s on a shelf behind her calling out titles to get her opinions. 

“Jurassic World?”

“What do you mean world? It’s a park.”

“Star Wars?”

“That’s for nerds- I am not going to lower myself to that.”

“So-” Al pauses, reading the box of a blue dvd and squinting at it. Rachel notes the cut off- “So what? What’s the title?” She turns around to see Al holding the case. “Sonic 2.” He looks at the blue little hedgehog on the front and looks to Rachel. “Shadow knew this guy.” He said softly. Carrying it over and sitting back down.

“Is he in it?”

Al looks at the back of the box, “I don’t… I don’t think so? He’s not on here at least. He would have made them give him top billing.” He smiles a bit thinking about it. 

Rachel can tell he’s getting in his head, and so asks the obvious question. “Want to watch it?” He sighs, flipping the box back over again. “It’s weird when it’s someone I know, right? Or I mean- It’s his life, kind of.”

Rachel shrugs and sinks into the cushion, looking up at the ceiling. “I mean, it could just be an interpretation of his life, right? He said he was from a video game.” Al nods, as if he’s just choosing to accept this. “Hmm. This is a movie. You’re right. I think.”

But even though she wasn’t trying to bully him, Al blushes and tries to hide his face, Audrey gives up on waiting for him to answer and looks across the train platform. It takes her a second, but eventually she clocks it. “Her?” She raises her hand to point at the blonde girl on the other side of the tracks and Al jumps at least a foot in the air. He jerks her arm down with both hands and spins in front of Audrey, who is now cackling to herself as her beat red friend hopes they aren’t causing too much of a commotion.

“Relax dude- she’ll forget when she goes to bed tonight.” Audrey says between cackles, and Alphonse can’t refute it. She’s right- that girl isn’t in the loop. Any embarrassment from this is fleeting, right? “Do you know her?” Audrey pulls Al out of thought again, and he looks past her at the reflection of the girl in a metal wind cover. “No- I. I’ve seen her around the past couple days. She must work around here or something.”

The girl across the way is standing with a bag over her shoulder, long blonde hair and- Al’s not a fashion person, but he can tell that this is a curated outfit. A longer jacket, a colorful pop of color from a beanie, how was he NOT supposed to look at her? It was also evident that this girl was looking for something, like she’s canvasing the area. Everyone else is in their own world but she’s clearly trying to take everything in.

For a moment, Al thinks he can see her looking directly back at him through the reflection and blushes, looking away from her and at Audrey, who is looking at him in the way that someone would look at a dog that thinks it can’t get off the couch.

“Why don’t you talk to her?” Al can feel his head shaking no before she can finish her sentence, and Audrey stares him down. “If you don’t I will. Dude, what’s the worst that could happen?” Al scratches the back of his head and tries to stall, feeling his heart in his throat and his face turning red. “Come on Audrey- I don’t know if that’s- If this is a good idea. How would I even get over there before the train comes?”

Audrey pinches the bridge of her nose, and the thermal lamp above them turns on to start warming the waiting area. She looks up with a grin as Al stammers out excuses. “You’re right, you probably won’t be able to get over there.” and she pushes past him, cupping her hands around her mouth and yelling.

“Hey!” Al considers throwing himself over the yellow line and into the path of the train. “Blonde girl!”

She jerks her head up, putting a foot back behind her as if expecting an attack, everyone on the train turns and looks at Audrey, and then at Rachel on the other side of the tracks. Al’s face was buried behind his hands- he hoped his gloves covered him enough that no one would see him.

Audrey holds out a hand towards Al, calling direct attention to him. “My friend here thinks your cute but he’s scared to go over there- Meet him for coffee tomorrow?” He wants to melt into the pavement, disappear entirely. He’s not sure if the girl is blushing or if the cold was hitting her face as much as his.

It felt like he was standing there forever, every eye on the two of them, and finally the girl starts to open her mouth and respond, but

Trains now arriving. Doors open on the left at Belmont.

A train blocks her from his vision, and Al pulls his hat down over his eyes and rushes forward to push onto the train. Audrey following behind him with a huge shit eating grin, she rushes to the other window and looks through, but another train has come on the far side, and the mess of people has made it impossible to see her anymore.

She turns to see Al giving her the angriest look she’s ever seen. “Audrey that was not ok.” She rolls her eyes- “it’s fine. She says yes, oh no there is no tomorrow for her, she says no, same hat. You lose nothing.” Her arguments weren’t convincing, and they ride in silence for a little bit as Al tries to replay the scene in his head.

He tries to remember her face, and the way her mouth was moving when she was responding- was that an ok? Was that a fuck off? What was she going to say? What does it matter anyway, when they’re trapped in this stupid fucking loop? Should he try earnestly tomorrow?

The next day, when the two of them come to the stop again at Audrey’s behest, Rachel is standing on their side of the tracks, and waves- a green number reflecting on her palm.